Tick Tock
by Benglel
Summary: Arthur didn't want any of this when he transferred from England to America. All he wanted was to be accepted by other people. And he makes the biggest mistake of his life by making a deal. *More information inside.*
1. Ticking

**A/N: Greetings, Readers. First and foremost, I want to thank you all for reading my fanfiction and that I do hope you enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership over the characters or Hetalia. They are belong to their rightful owners.**

**Trigger Warnings: Depression, gore, blood. There might be more, but these are most likely to happen throughout the story. **

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"Loser! What a joke! Maybe we should teach you a lesson to stay away! Hahahahahaha!" Insults after insults came. Arthur didn't want any of this when he transferred from England to America. Already, he called for help long ago and wanted to leave everything behind.

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"What's up, British dude?!" Alfred called out as he straightened his bomber jacket, his cerulean eyes fixing on Arthur's figure. Francis, a French transfer with wavy blond hair and aqua eyes, and Kiku, a short Japanese transfer that had big brown eyes, followed behind him. They were having a conversation about the school lunches and what they could do to fix them.

"What to hang out with us after class?"

Unfortunately, Arthur was in no mood to socialize with anyone and shook his head 'no' and left for class. He wanted to cover up the fact he just got pounded with more insults in the restroom twenty minutes earlier. Another day of rejecting his friends to help him with his problems. In his mind, he felt as if they would soon reject him too. Francis, Kiku, and Alfred exchanged concerned glances with each other and carried on to class. The same class with Arthur.

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"Okay, class!" The teacher exclaimed as soon as she stepped in the classroom. She peered around at the students scrambling to get in their seats. "Let's begin!" Kiku glanced between the teacher writing something on the board and Arthur, who was….paying attention to the clock? Was he waiting for something?_**  
**_

_...1...2...3...4…_

Arthur watched the dull red hand move by each second.

_...5...6...7...8...9...10…_

The teacher in the background droned on about another homework assignment the whole class had to do the night before. A few students whisper to each other, but Arthur ignored their incoherent, meaningless mutters. Nothing in the world seemed to matter to the Briton other than the fact that the clock was mesmerising him.

_...11...12...13...14…_

He continued watching the hand shift one bit at a time- quite like a staring contest. _Tick tock._ The sound softly emitting from the clock rung in his ear clearly. It started off as a hushed noise, though the volume increased dramatically as time slipped into the future. _Tick tock._

...15...16...17...18...19...20…

"Mr. Kirkland! Why don't you answer the next question, hm?" Before, the teacher caught a glimpse of Arthur not even paying attention. It was irregular for her star-student to slack off. Normally, she expected that from Alfred or Gilbert.

"It seems your new daydream world is more important than education. Are you even listening to any word I just said?" His other classmates snapped their heads towards the student president and kept uncharacteristically quiet. And no. Arthur didn't hear a single word being said as he slipped more into the hypnotizing state.

...21...22...23...24…

The Briton didn't budge, nor did he take his emerald orbs off of the clock. He began to grow weaker by each second passing. Other than the clicking echoing in his head, a sinister chuckle boomed in his ears.

"_Now, now, now~ What do we have here? Oh, right~ You were the one being bullied? Why don't you come to a world where no one will harm you? You can dream all you want!~ Come now…"_ The voice purred.

As much as Arthur wanted to leave this trance, he found himself trying to go along with the plan. The more he submitted to the voice in his head, the more he grew weaker. His breathing even began to slow and grow erratic as he parted his lips for air. His eyelids drooped down to half-mass, green eyes watching the ticking hands spin in circles. The teacher looked at Arthur with genuine worry and asked again, keeping an eye on him. "Dear, is there something wrong? If not, cut the act off and answer the question."

_...25…26...Tick tock. Tick tock…_

"Yeah, Arthur, are you okay?" People asked him, except for Francis, Alfred, and Kiku; his classmates he knew the best, but barely hang out with.

_.."Come on...Just ignore them a little longer and everything that was bad that just happened to you, will be gone forever~ You're almost there~ Heheheh."..._

Before the teacher approached carefully, the Briton swayed to and from each side and ended up collapsing on the floor with a loud thud. He twitched slightly and once again, continued to gaze at the rapid spiral on the clock. Students came from every direction and circled around Arthur's weak and weary body.

_...27...28...Tick tock. Tick tock…_

That simple-minded noise sounded like it was on full blast and his heart beated right along to it.

_...29…"We are going to have so much~"..._

Darkness enclosed on Arthur's vision and the last thing he saw from the corners of his glazed-over eyes was the group rushing to him. One thing stood out from the rest of the terrifying scene.

In the midst of the crowd, was a young man standing behind the teacher and his three close friends. But this was no ordinary man. This man looked exactly like Arthur, yet he had qualities that were different. The man had fiery red hair, a black and deep, blood-red suit (Coat being black and the dress shirt being red), matching black shoes, and pure silver, cuffed earrings on his right ear. He also had horns, a tail, and wings protruding from his body.

The look-a-like Arthur casually strolled towards and kneeled beside Arthur himself, placing a hand on his head. A devious smirk played at his lips. He stroked the sandy-blond hair gently and whispered, his icy-cold breath caressing Arthur's ear. His voice sounded sinister.

…"_Arthur, come with me~ All you have to say is '30'~"..._

Arthur closed his eyes and shakily let out his last breath.

..."30"...

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**A/N: Yes. That is devil!England. Hurrhurr. Anywho, I'm trying to decide if I should continue on with this fanfiction. If you do like it and want me to continue, please send a review. Thank you. **

**I did update it, fixing errors and adding a little more to it.**


	2. Memories and Agreements

Arthur flew through a black void at a frightening pace. As he fell through the open space, he flicked his eyes open and was met with caliginous matter consuming the air around him. He wavered a hand in front of him and quirked a thick eyebrow. How is it that he could see himself glowing brightly?

Before he could shut his eyes from the screaming nothingness, a single glare of light began to pierce through the darkness and slowly moved towards him. The light was not blue or white, but instead a deep orange with hints of red glowing inside; and when it neared, it had a perfect sphere shape to it.

"So, my dear boy. Are you ready to make a contract without anymore bloody distractions?" The same voice from the man earlier inquired in a light and airy voice. Everything came to a stop.

"I don't think...Maybe I shouldn't…" Arthur fumbled over his words, his thoughts driving between 'yes' and 'no.'

"Have you forgotten already? The memories from the past and the present that made it this way?" All of the sudden, the gleaming sphere grew more intense and blurred around Arthur's figure. Arthur covered his eyes until the brightness died down.

The voice sighed. "You can open your eyes now."

The Briton unshielded his face and blinked rapidly, forcing his vision to focus on the sudden change of the setting. He watched the scene play without a word. Everywhere, small desks surrounded his entire body and children romped in between and around them, playing with each other. Everyone, but a little boy, diverted their attention to the new game someone shouted out. The young boy looked exactly like Arthur- No. It was him.

_The younger counterpart of Arthur sat quietly at a desk, reading a book about mythical creatures in one hand while petting something with the other. __To others, it seemed like the kid was touching nothing but thin air. But in Arthur's emerald orbs, the small hand stroked the light green fur of his magickal creature, flying mint bunny._

_"Alright, class!" The teacher's hearty tone boomed throughout the classroom. All of the students froze in place to listen to their educator. "It's time for show and tell! This time, we are showing off animals! So, carefully bring your pets over, create a circle, and let's share altogether!"_

_The class cheered in excitement and instantly took off towards their parents to grab and take their pets to fill in gaps of the circle. Sadly enough, Arthur's parents wouldn't show up, so he had to bring flying mint bunny with him. The eager children with their animals awaited impatiently for the teacher to start._

_Once every student sat in a large circle, the teacher finally clapped her hands together and piped up in a high pitch._

_"Okay! Is everyone ready? Who should start?"_

_Immediately, grabby hands shot up in the air and waved anxiously, hoping to get picked on. Arthur and a few others that were shy kept to themselves, holding onto the creatures. The teacher's amber eyes scanned over the petite faces and shook her head. There were too many to choose from._

_"You know.." She started. "Let's have our newest student, Arthur, start our circle and then we will go around!"_

_Arthur's face lit up and he hopped off of the floor, leading his mythical animal with him. A few whispers were scattered about between two or more of his classmates. The younger Briton shuffled awkwardly to the middle and nodded, beginning his small presentation._

_"This is my pet. He is a flying mint bunny. I don't really have a name for him, so I call him that too. Flying mint bunny is really friendly and loves to cuddle with me."_

_Arthur pointed to the little creature to the side of him. He didn't expect the reactions from his teachers and fellow classmates. They all gave him a look as if he was crazy. All they saw was the air. He tilted his head to the side in confusion._

_"What's wrong?" He asked._

_Everyone was silent until the teacher spoke up. "Arthur," She said with a smile. "That is a wonderful imagination that you have! You can sit down now."_

_"But, it isn't my imagination! He is real! I sw-"_

_"Arthur. You can sit down now."_

_The young Arthur casted his eyes to the floor, trudged over and took his spot on the floor._

_After everyone has shared their animals, they continued on to play and laugh- never inviting Arthur to join. Almost everyone thought he was a kid that had gone mad._

The present day Arthur stood in the middle of the room, eyebrows furrowed and fists clenched in balls. That was the first day in his life where it went downfall.

Arthur jumped a little when the memory changed dramatically to the next one. He observed the colors, objects, and people dripped down as a goopy substance. Everything was soon replaced with the living room in Arthur's house.

_Two children sat in the middle, solving a puzzle together. One was Arthur and the other was Arthur's younger brother, Peter. Both of them wore tuxes with a red carnation sticking out of the breast pockets. They had to go to an elegant party with their parents._

_"Boys. It is time to leave." Their mother's voice rung out._

_The brother's exchanged a small smile with each other as they gathered the pieces together and placed them in a small box. They ran out to meet their parents and nodded, a signal that they were finished. Altogether, the small family went out to the party._

_When they arrive, the boys gazed at their destination. The place looked very fancy with silver designs carved into columns and an overall very renaissance feel to it. All four of them scurried off in different directions, meeting with people they already know._

_Arthur's parents talked among with a random couple while Peter was off playing with the other kids his age. Arthur, stood in the background and listened in on the conversation with little to no emotion written across his face. They bragged about how well Peter is doing and never mentioned a word about their other son. This was all new to him. Arthur had never heard one of his parents compliment anyone, but all of the sudden, they were complimenting Peter instead. It was as if...Arthur's parents appreciated Peter more than Arthur._

A tear slid down Arthur's cheek. That short memory left a painful mark on his heart.

The room started to spin and everything melted right off into darkness. Now, Arthur was left with the single sphere of light in the endless black void.

"Well? What is your desicion?"

Arthur shook his head. His mind still fuzzy. "Oh, come off. All in all. Here is what the plan is. You don't want to join the real world and be tortured, do you? If you do, I guess I could send you back where your death bed is waiting." The voice pressed on, the light growing duller. I was a tough decision for Arthur. He could go back to a place where he knew best, but where he was treated miserably. or go to a place where he didn't know what will happen, but is promised that everything will run smoothly.

"Wait," Arthur finally spoke in a clear tone. The light stopped fading away. "I'll go."

The voice breathed out a chuckle and a contract and a pen appeared next to Arthur. Arthur took a hold of the pen, pressed the tip to the bottom of the contract, and wrote out his signature. Right after he signed it, a spike ejected from inside the pen into the Briton's thumbs. Startled from the sudden pain, Arthur jerked his hand away from the pen and clutched his finger. He grit his teeth and watched his blood roll down the spike and drip onto the contract.

"That'll do. Now, close your eyes and count to three and you'll be there. Enjoy your say!~"

Arthur did as he was told, still holding his finger, and counted to three.

"1."

"2."

"3."

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**A/N: I am really, really sorry this chapter came late. I was busy with school work and just life in general. But in the next few weeks, I should have this entire story finished.**


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